I'm not actually posting right now

So I decided yesterday that in an attempt to stop the skid, I wasn't going to post the lineup and sure enough, the losing streak is over. So, I'm not posting today on Inside the Dodgers…this is a figment of your imagination.

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Good Morning again ITDland ~If it works, keep it up Josh! I can’t beleive I’m first. I hope the lineup will be the same as yesterday. I posted on the last thread but, since I was first here I just had to say hello.

With Kent going down and Nomar looking like a 70 year old man trying to play we are going to get an influence of youth at out middle infield positions and thats going to help us. If we do win this season it will be in spite of all the old frats on this team. How coool would it be if Hu and Dewitt take over the short and second base jobs and we go on a streak and win the division by 3 or 4 games. Maybe that will finally get Ned, Joe and Frank too pull there heads out of their you know whats. Youth is our best chance to win! Dump the old farts and bring up the kids!

If the Tampa Rays have taught baseball anything it’s that experience is overrated. They have a younger team and a younger (WAY fFREAKING YOUNGER) manager (who’s not a magician!) and they are the best team in baseball.

Yeah. If we went young all season we’d probably be in first place by now. Playing Jones, Pierre and Kent everyday for a most of the season hurt us. I know Kent turned it on when Manny got here but we shouldn’t forget that before Manny got here Jeff Kent was on pace to be one of the worst clean up hitters in the history of the game. Playing Angel Berroa 59 games this year didn’t help much either but hey he’s a vet! He knows how to suck…i mean play the game.

Losing Furcal really hurt this team. If we had Furcal all season we’d be way a head of the Dfags.

Max ~ I agree about Furcal. I wonder when he comes back next year, if he will be as good. He’s been a little injury prone the past few years (I guess Nomaritis caught up with him) Then again, if he were playing, Juan would probably still be in there and Andre would be the cheerleader,

Well Trueblue, It’s not a sure thing Furcal will be back next season. He’s a free agent after this year and if he asks for a big contract I hope whoever our GM is passes. Furcal is a force when he’s healthy but when has he been healthy? He has said though that the Dodgers are his first choice and if so I hope he’s willing to sign an incentive laden contract.

I think Juan could be traded. I’d even take an average utility player, who can pinch hit. Andruw, on the other hand is a different story. I’d just eat his contract and tell him goodbye. I know Dusty likes those kind of players. LOL, That’s why he was so successful in S.F., the Cubs and now the Reds.

I think it would be a fun season next year if all the young guns play. I’d love to keep Manny because, he’s a kid at heart. I know Frank has the money to pay him (our payroll with all the young players has become one of the smallest). Whether he’d do it, I don’t know. I think our farm system has plenty of good pitchers. So, signing a big shot CC type would be a risk (they seem to be hurt much of the time). The Giants used a lot of their own throwers and they are pretty darn good.

I feel the same way, bluecrewgirl. I think from now on when the Dodgers go on the road, they have to take the theme song from CSI New York with them and play it in their locker room…..that way it will be like playing a home game!

Hey there vl4ecc (aka jjriley!!!) – 30 homers would be a minimum for Andre had he played on a regular basis. It is such a waste!!! But unfortunately, there are a lot of “what might have beens” on this team…

Max did you read the article I left last name if not I’ll posted it again.

I just want to thrown this at you.

Dodgers Notebook: Kent’s career likely over

Download story podcast

11:31 PM PDT on Saturday, August 30, 2008

By DIAMOND LEUNG
The Press-Enterprise

PHOENIX – The final game of Jeff Kent’s Hall of Fame-caliber career might have been Friday when he exited with such severe pain in his left knee that he returned to Los Angeles on Saturday to undergo an MRI exam.

The exam revealing torn cartilage in the knee would explain the pain that has bothered the second baseman for the past month, and if it sidelines him for the remainder of the season, Kent, 40, could decide to hang up his cleats since he is in the final year of his Dodgers contract.

Torre wouldn’t rule out Kent’s return, but said he expected that the results of the exam were “not going to be pretty” and has gotten indications that Kent’s 17th big league season would be his last.

“All the hints were this was probably going to be it for him,” Torre said. “I really respect what he’s done here. There’s some people who may have made something of the person he is or what he’s said, but when you cut to it, he went out and played baseball.”

Kent played through wear and tear in the knee and back pain for the past month after speaking with Torre about taking less days off for the stretch run.

Rookie Blake DeWitt, who pinch hit for Kent in the seventh inning of Friday’s game, made his first major league start at second base after spending the past month at Class AAA Las Vegas learning the position in case of this very situation.

“You never know what to expect,” said DeWitt, who for the second time this season saw an injury thrust him into a starting role.

If the Dodgers don’t trade for a second baseman in the next 24 hours, they also have internal options with Delwyn Young scheduled to come off the disabled list Monday, Chin-lung Hu expected to be recalled in September and Pablo Ozuna if he were to clear waivers.

“Knowing him, I can’t say for sure (Kent is out for the season),” Torre said. “I think he was just trying to help us win a pennant.”

More Dodgers Notes

Andruw Jones concluded his rehabilitation assignment and returned to Los Angeles to have his irritated right knee examined, as he is expected to be activated from the disabled list Monday.

Jason Schmidt was clocked in the upper-80s in his return to action, and while he has another outing scheduled for Monday in Las Vegas, Torre reiterated that he is expected to be lost for the season.

Rafael Furcal is scheduled to return to Arizona for rehabilitation on Monday, and the Dodgers will wait until late next week to reevaluate his chances of helping the team this year.

Las Vegas right-hander James McDonald is expected to be called up in September to make his major league debut out of the bullpen.

I love James but he really needs to fix those double plays. Thankfully it’s just a matter of him fixing his swing a little bit. He needs to learn how to get more lift on the ball. His bat head comes through the zone flat a lot. I bet if you looked at video from Loney from last september and compare it to now it would look different.

Max, we know Grandpa likes that righty-lefty-righty stuff, but with Kemp’s speed and Loney’s un-speed, I feel Loney should be hitting NOT behind Manny becasue of all the walks Manny gets, setting up double plays too perfectly.

Yeah i saw it sl7…I think Kent being out of the clubhouse will help this team a lot. His bat won’t be missed either if Dewitt can play anywhere near how he played when he was first up with us. It’s hard to forget but before Manny was here Jeff Kent was on pace to be one of the worst clean up hitters in history. Also, the Dodgers lack of faith in their own players is astounding. Why even have a farm system!

I am still mad about that Omar Vizquel thing. If Ned trades for him and he starts 1 game over Hu doesn’t I’m gonna have to be kept out of dodger stadium by force because I’m going to drive down there and slap Joe and Ned until my hand breaks.

Hey guys. Just stopping in to point out that this looks like a team possessed tonight. We could be even further ahead accept for Loney’s DP. If the Dodgers can hold on to this lead, and finish off the D-Backs, now that would be a strange twist for a team that could not win anything not too long ago to a team that would beat Haren and then Webb. Something that could likely push them back into this thing. It’s nice to have reason to be excited again… It was like the Dodgers went on a short break in the middle of the season.

Joe Morgan is an idiot isn’t he? All games he’s talked about Webb being able to getting away if he leaves his Sinker up because of the power and the movement. Well Joe, He’s left his Sinker up all night and is getting raked.

Twice in a row coming up short for Webb trying to get 20. Between what the Pads did to him on his last start, and the Dodgers getting 8 off him tonight, it makes you think the wheels are coming off the wagon for him.
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GOOD!

Boy how it feels oh so good to turn the tables in getting your butt whooped, and return the favor!! I can’t believe, we pull this one out tonight, we’re only 2.5 games out and still play AZ 3 more times. We totally have the schedule on our side…. God help us if we do make the playoffs… Could be really ugly. I thought for sure after we lost to Doug Davis that we’d totally fold under the pressure of Haren and Webb!! WRONG!!

Damn, oh well….. i can feel the mojo coming back… If it took having Jeff Kent not be in the locker room to allow people to relax, then so be it!! If we could just rely on ability and youthful enthusiasm we could really cause some havoc.

I’d like to petition Drew’s hit as an error…. Derek Lowe should have a no-no going right now!! It’s horrible that anyone would try to take that away from him like that!! This is a real no hitter!! And Lowe deserves it…. BTW I saw the CC play, and yeah, that should have been ruled a hit… No way that gets called an error.

could you appeal that error call on kemp’s grounder. even the anti-dodger morgan called it a tough play. even if it is not a hit, how can he not even give kemp an RBI? can you assume an out at the plate if reynolds fields it cleanly? it was not a force out. i think it’s a hit and two rbi’s for kemp or at the least, a FC error and one RBI for kemp. come on josh, make a stand for our guys? the Brewers have appealed before and got an overturn and are appealing CC’s play too. we should do that for all our guys too.

Ok….we’re having a great game and I’m happy….but I just read the story on ladodgers.com that Coletti is looking for a middle infielder on the waiver wire…..he could have had David Eckstin who the DBacks got…but no….he is considering Omar Visquel….can you believe that?…What do we need with another shortstop that can’t hit..?!…He NEVER learns…likes all the over the hill old guys!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OK everyone, I’m taking off… Just excited that we rememberd how to play baseball again…. Nice win tonight, looks like starting tomorrow we should again be back on the path to still take this thing. We have to beat the teams we’re supposed to beat… That Washington series looks insanely painful right now. With the Padres coming into LA, we should be able to win 2 of 3 and gain some more ground…. Absolutely insane… GO BLUE!!

I despise Joe Morgan. I despise Joe Morgan’s pencil think mustache. I despise the Anti-Dodger sentiment he infuses into his commentation. I despise the fact that Joe Morgan likes Juan Pierre. Oh, yeah, did I mention the fact that I despise Jo Morgan?

I meant to write “pencil thin” but “pencil think” kinda describes his intellect, or lack thereof. Btw, Andre Ethier is straight pimp and now he has made Brandon Webb and the Dback his…. uh, well, you know.

It funny that Sweeney is now 5/17 after the all stars break.
He’s number in the 2nd half are 333/.524/ .400/ .924 and that probably why he still on this team. I wonder where those number in the first half.

Elbert looks really, really good…. I honestly had no idea…. Man this team has got boatloads of talent…. The big key in my opinion to us running away with this division next year is going to be keeping Manny. That way we can have a power bat and a WHOLE LOT OF FUN!!

I would to see a rotation of CC, Bills, Lowe, Kuroda Elbert/McDonald/Kershaw. I think Kershaw need another season in the minor and he would have plenty of time to be up here and I think he need to develop another pitches.

In case anyone’s not watching ESPN (or watching it on mute and missed the announcement), James Loney is going to narrate the ESPN 2 special on the RBI program at 9ET on Tuesday and 7ET on Thursday. I’m sure Josh will post something on it before it shows, though.

I think Broxton should pretend that the score is always 8-1 Dodgers, whenever he comes in for a save.
I’m not saying he’s afraid I just think he’s scared.
I think this man is brillant he should just play catch with the catcher and forget about the hitter, like I assume he did tonight.

Elbert looks really good so far. The future looks bright with him and Kershaw, Bills, Brox, Wade, etc. Young pitches for the Pads tomorrow. I bet Andre’s looking forward to that. Two pitchers that he hits well in a row. The whole team looked great tonight. It’s so great to see the infield defense making the plays like they should. We really lost the game on Friday because of the infield defense. It’s doubtful the game would have imploded like it did without the defensive blunders.

What a great game. I guess the magician (lol) waved his wand once again….To bad I had to listen to ESPN’s commentary by Joe and Jon….how dare they disrespect a team. They are supposed to call the damn game. I don’t think a Giant announcer should be allowed to do a Dodgers game. Then again, we whipped the Dbacks and they had to suffer through it.

bluecrewgirl ~ I really like Elbert – Wow!!! And you are right, the whole team did fantastic tonight. All of Andre’s at-bats were Andre at-bats – solid contact, with great pitch counts. Definitely the Andre we know :) Maybe he read your post – lol!!

DNelly, I don’t think I can take any credit since he always hits Webb well, I’m just glad they came out of their funk. Trueblue, the national media is so East Coast biased, I don’t even bother to get upset about it anymore, but it is annoying. I do appreciate Morgan’s knowledge of the game, but it’s obvious he doesn’t like the Dodgers. I used to hate the reds back in the day when they were big rivals with the Dodgers.

I know what you are saying about Morgan, bluecrewgirl. I try not to let it bother me, but it gets to the point where you say, “enough already”. Sometimes I just hit the mute button on my remote.

Also, you guys were discussing Visquel coming to us and they are planning to call Hu up on Monday. So, I don’t see the need for another washed up ballplayer. But, then again, he is a Giant and Ned loves the Giants.

Jungar ~ So, let’s get rid of both of them. We may be able to get an average utility player for Juan (someone who can actually hit the ball) and as for Andruw, I say we just eat his salary and learn from the mistake.

Looks like Jeff Kent is going to have surgery on his knee. I wish him all the best. I’ve had the procedure twice. Thankfully, the recovery time is fairly quick, but, unfortunately, the pain and “crunchiness” does not go away, especially if there’s a torn meniscus involved. Again, good luck, Jeff.

The ****-chat on ESPN2 during the game was the possibility of Martin at 3rd next season (ala Biggio, Torre, etc. switching positions from catcher). There are pros and cons, of course. Like Piazza, getting offense from a defensive-minded position like catcher is a plus. But history shows that Martin, not the biggest guy in the world, seems to wear down late in the year. I’m on the fence with this one. Would depend on who catches, if not Martin. They mentioned Varitek (a free agent) but he’ll be 37 next season. Thanks, but no thanks. Just another aging PVL, past his prime–and at cathcer, no less. Who ever A. J. Ellis is he’ll be 28 next season, hit .321 at AAA Vegas this season and is 6′ 3″, 240 lbs. Carlos Santana???

Exactly TruBlue. And the chemistry is going to be mixed again when the guys on the DL who are “healthy” join the team tomorrow as well as the few minor leaguers who were invited to the Show.
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However, I liked what I saw of DeWitt at second tonight. He showed good range and was more than adequate. Just hope that the rumor about Vizquel was just that – a rumor. We don’t need another PVL who can’t hit.

Dewitt’s looked great at second so far and I think we need to give a home grown player a chance at short. We don’t need another overpaid vet who doesn’t produce. We need to get rid of the ones we have, not add more.

And add one more NO to the voting on Omar Vizquel. BTW, what’s the latest report on Raffy? I’m not opposed to having Martin move to 3B, as long as our starting catching options are better than Gary Bennett or Danny Ardoin.

No kidding !! Bluecrewgirl ~ How about DeJesus? or giving Hu another shot. It’s got to be better than Omar. I actually don’t mind Omar, but as long as he stays a Giant. He is sitting the bench for them.

Oh, Dnel, I was on Yahoo just a bit ago – our guy Andre is back as one of the top three fantasy players! That is SO cool. And did you notice during the game tonight that the camera was on him a good part of the time – just watching him munch on those sunflower seeds.

Thanks TruBlue.. Well then, assuming Mr Gammons is correct, I hope that Hu can learn to handle major league pitching. His defense is solid, very solid, but we don’t need A [nother] sub Mendoza line hitting shortstop. Keep an eye open for Ivan DeJesus, he may well be the truth.

Me too! They were just speculating. He says Lowe will be gone, because he likes the East Coast. And if Nomar and Jeff are gone next season, we should have the money to keep Manny. They also mentioned CC. So, who knows?

Super, Super,Super, Extra! Read all about it! Just off the Press Off The Daily Planet! Wow! That was the Real Los Angeles Dodgers We Saw Tonight! World Series Championship Performer, Majistral Derek Lowe was Masterful In Six Innngs of Work Allowing just four hits and 2 strikeouts with only 1 walk! What a Game, Dedicated Los Angeles Dodger Pitcher You Are! The Amazing Super Hero Casey Blake absolutely blew the cowardly, white kryptonite To Smithereens With His Rocket Blast Three Run Home Run ,which ignited this Los Angeles Dodger Baseball Fire which will Never Burn Out! If anybody sees any kryptonite, just thow it in! Super Hero, the Powerful Andre Ethier helped stoke the Fire with his Home Run Blast, as He always steps it up a notch when the situation calls for it, as well as going 2 for 5 with 2 runs scored and 2RBI’s, including His Double!. The Tower Of Power, James Loney Does It Again For Us Dodger Fans and His Teammates going 3 for 5 at the plate and always being a menacing figure for the opposing Team any time his steps into a Ballpark! The Always Amazing Super Heros Russel Martin and Matt Kemp proved that They Will Do Whatever It Takes to Bring Home The World Series Championship Victory With Their Stolen Base Each, Each with a Base Hit, and Combined Very Important 3 Runs Scored! Your True Dodger Greatness Will Be Remembered Forever! What Can You Say About The Way Super Heros, Scott Elbert,Cory Wade & The Great Jonathan Broxton Closed Out The Game to compliment Derek Lowe! Absoutely Perfect! As Well, Way to Strike Out The Side, Jonathan & Scott In True Great Los Angeles Dodger Fashion! By The Way, The Score had to be 8 to 1, since Our Dodgers Were World Series Champions in ’81. The Amazing Super Hero Manny Ramirez comes Through Big Time Once Again Drawing 3 walks and 2 huge Runs Scored and Presenting A Dangerous Threat To Destroy all the remaining kryptonite left with His Super Powers. In the Dictionary, when you look up the Word Slugger, it says Manny Ramirez!Super Heros Frank McCourt,Ned Colletti & Joseph Torre Are Always Rewarded For Their Courage,Faith & Dedication!And Of course, The Indestructable, Invincible,Inpenetrable, The Man Of Steel, Superman Himself, Our Very Own Jeff Kent, who will never give in to kryptonite, and will destroy it just by His Will Alone. Superman is going to Play and We are going to see another World Series Victory a la Super Hero Kirk Gibson! I just saw some white kryptonite disappear! All Of Our Beloved Dodgers were Super Heros Tonight! As Our Super Great All Powerful Dodger In The Sky Has Promised These Humble, Great,Baseball Players Known as Our Beloved Los Angeles Dodgers, Even Having All The Super Great Hosts in the Universe Watching, In Front Of His Brilliant Stars, With Wonder & Astonishment, Will Be Crowned World Series Champions For The Seventh Time in This Glorious, Majestic, Jubilee & Supernatural Year of 2008 A.D., The 50th Anniversary Of Our Beloved Los Angeles Dodgers In Los Angeles! Therefore, Sing & Cheer All Los Angeles Dodger Fans For The Glorious Glory Of True Los Angeles Dodger Baseball Has Returned Under the All Seeing Eye of Our Great and Almighty Friend, The Great Dodger In the Sky!

ndeschenes ~ It is so great to hear from you. It always assures us that the Dodgers are actually winning again. Let’s make it three tomorrow against the Padres. Have a wonderful evening and a spectacular tomorrow :)

I don’t think he minds moving to 3B and it would lengthen his career and keep him from breaking down at the end of the season. What is of concern to me, and I’m sure the team as well, is having an experienced catcher who can handle the pitching staff, provide good defense and give the team some quality at bats.

Martin would play anywhere if it meant playing every day. But at the end of the day, 3rd base is “supposed” to be a power slot. Russell is a line-drive hitter, like Loney. If, and it’s a big if, Russell moves to 3rd base, the Dodgers MUST sign Manny. With Ethier, Martin and Loney in three of the four the corner spots (the usual power positions), you’re going to need a BIG bopper in the last remaining spot (assuming Kemp is their center fielder). NO MORE PVLs…….except Manny and pitching.

Good point Kahli and Max. With the way this organization does things lately we will probably still have Juan and Andruw but lose Manny. I’ll be really upset if they don’t sign him. Everyone loves him in the locker room and he makes the fans stay until the end of the game. That hasn’t happened in a long time!

Max, it probably is easier to find a solid third baseman than it is to find an All-Star catcher. The Dodgers should sign Manny, TRADE for a third baseman, and play DeWitt and Hu up the middle. I say trade for a third baseman because I don’t want a free agent. Too much cash for too little return. Besides, Frank will be spending oodles on Manny. Logan White knows which kids are the keepers and which kids are trade chips.

I still think The Captain might make a good 2B. I wonder if they’ve ever thought of it. I don’t know why I’m thinking that way. Probably because of Biggio’s success.

Yeah, June Darlin’! That was a dominating race. He led 228 of the 250 laps. As far as I’m concerned it was a great race! He might be peaking at the right time again. Boy, it’d (is that a real contraction) be great to watch him get 3 in a row. I had to watch him do it last year from a hospital room. It took a little off the celebration for me.

Max, I was just prowling around looking for songs to post and ran across your debate about Joe’s magic work! LMAO!!!!

Andy Pettitte recent said he doesn’t like pitching to Pudge. He didn’t like pitching to him so much that he asked Joe Giardi to not start him on the days he pitches and he hasn’t caught Pettitte since then.

“…he makes the fans stay until the end of the game.” TruBlue, that is music to Frank’s ears!!! That’s why he has to sign him. More cokes and hot dogs. Manny is the greatest thing to happen to this organization in 20 years–AND IT FELL RIGHT INTO FRANK’S LAP! Boston gave him away, the best right-handed hitter of his generation. Manny has been astonishing.

Kpoo, trading for a third basemen be a good Idea for this offseason if we didn’t trade for a third basemen during this season. Our trade bait is all gone. The only guys we’ve got left are either not good enough prospects to pull in a good third basemen or are guys we should hold onto. I think we pretty much have to resign Blake next year.

I know Kahli. When we were there the first weekend he played for us, they sold out of all his white T-shirts. Jersey’s were limited. Some of the kids came in with dreadlocks, even before they started selling them. For three games, they cheered constantly, even when he struck out! SO, PLEASE FRANK, KEEP MANNY!!!

Here’s an idea………Manny, you don’t want to get tied down this late in your career, right? What if you sign with a team that turns out to be shi**y? So Manny, you and Frank agree to $25 million for one year—2009. If the Dodgers still suck, Manny can bid adieu.

eric ~ I watched pretty much the entire race. I was going back and forth thoughout the Dodger game, and then once the Dodger game was over, I just watched the race. I am becoming a bit of a Denny Hamlin fan. I saw his pre-race and post-race interviews, and I really want to see him stay in the Chase. He seems like many of the racers – a great guy!

max, Logan White has lots of trade bait…some known, some we’ve never heard of. Nobody wants our major leaguers anyway, because they know MartinLoneyKempEthier are not going anywhere. If Dodgers don’t trade maybe DeWitt goes back to third with Hu and DeJesus forming a wall up the middle. But once again, if you do that, you gotta have Manny.

babyblu ~ I’m going to call it a night. See you tomorrow. Don’t get into too much trouble. If you want some laughs, go back and read some of the posts during tonights game, especially the ones from “Oberon”

Junie, Hamlin does seem to be a nice guy. He sure can drive! He had a moment though, about 3 weeks back. His engine blew up about 5 laps from the end and he was in the top 5 at the time. He wasn’t too gracious then. He slammed his team pretty good about poor choices being made. It was in the heat of the moment, and I’m sure that Gibbs had a little talk with him. It happens to the best of them and he’s still a young guy. I think he has a shot at winning the cup some day.

Regarding a one-year for Manny, I think the only way that happens is if we get a no-interest repeat like what happened with Andruw. Boras clients go where the money is virtually without exception.

I don’t think I’m happy with Jones and Proctor returning. I’m really happy to see Hu, McDonald finally getting his shot, Kershaw, Young, Repko, Stults and Ellis what happen to May? I thought he would be up here before Ellis. I guess Ozuna, Tiffee and Lindsley won’t be up.

There are some trading chips left, and the biggest hole is SS. Next is SP.

As much as I hate to admit it, the kids need Manny in the line-up. I can see them signing Manny 2 years at an inflated price ala Jones ($55 mil?) or 3 years at $70 mil. Frank needs to make a run at CC (how can you not?) but his pricetag can probably only be met by Bos, NYY, Anaheim. Sheets is the cheaper alternative. Lowe’s a .500 pitcher, Penny’s an option depending on how he recovers in Sept. I-Rod could bring some solid D and an adequate bat to backstop, but that’ll mean Marty has to catch at least 1/3 of the time, thus leaving another hole at third.

Any way you slice it, Ned’s done his usual job of giving us a Swiss cheese line-up in the off season. It leaves the team either clamoring for overpriced FA’s, vulnerable to the raping of the farm system for trades (or worse MLKM), or filling in positions with kids.

Good Morning/Afternoon ITD writers and readers!!
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Great write-up this morning Enchanted – It will be a very interesting off-season to say the least. And yes, the kids, plus Manny and Casey, are doing fantastic right now.
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jungar ~ I am not sure where that came from, but whoever said it, isn’t watching the games we are watching – LOL!!

delly ~ Good morning. How’s it going? Are you at school getting some work done? I see you had company early this morning.

Enchanted ~ Liked your suggestions for next season. I wonder, if by some chance we should win the division, would management let everyone, except for Loney, Ethier, Kemp and Martin, go off into the sunset? I think what we do in the off-season has a lot to do with how we finish this year, don’t you? I know he signed a long-term contract but, if I had a choice of third basemen, I’d take David Wright. I like his attitude and I think he’d fit in with our group of players.

Kahli ~ thanks! That’s just great ~ it appears the magician is falling asleep on the job – LOL!! However, last night he seemed to have some life in him. At least I saw Andre on the rail with him a few times talking to him and trying to keep him awake – LOL!!
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trublue ~ yes, I am at work. I am changing my “Ball Park a week wall” to Atlanta and the Braves. It’s much better to have them up there then the dbacks, but maybe it was a good thing because other than Friday, the dbacks have lost all their games since I have had the board up. As far as last night/early morning, I fell asleep on Eric. He was trying to catch up to me on the Dodger Trivia game and he succeeded, and will probably kick my *ss now because I ran out of questions. I am sure he has many more questions to go. I am assuming he knew all the old time questions that I had a hard time with and frequently got wrong. I think he will easily catch up to Dodge16 and manfromchina. He knows his trivia very well. I wasn’t around for the Oberon sightings, it seemed to be all by itself :)

I don’t know how they could lure Wright away from the Mets Tru, the package would have to be too much. Crede is a FA as well, so that’s another possibility.

I see the greatest need as a shortstop. Hardy I think would be a good fit, but with Milwaukee losing both CC and Sheets, he’ll cost at least McDonald, plus another high prospect or two.

Ned’s backed himself into another corner again having to go the FA route for at least a 3B and SP. There are no shortstops worth signing unless he takes a chance on Furcal, but if you bet the farm on him staying healthy you’ll be scrounging for another SS sometime during the year.

I see the D’s having more question marks going into next season than they did this one, and I know I don’t want Ned putting together another club of other team’s scraps, but if Frank hides the kitty, that’s exactly what we’ll have.

enchanted ~ i agree with you about needing a shortstop. Sometimes, I wonder if there are that many good players out there. If they were so terriffic, I’d think their clubs would sign them, no matter what it took. Perhaps our farm system has players that will make an impact. I’d love to keep Manny and I hope McCourt wants him too.

Joe Crede is batting .248/.313/.448 this season. In his career he’s batting .257/.306/.462. In his career he’s never had an OBP over .322 and he hit .283 that season. Thats Pierre like pathetic. I’d rather have Slappy play third base. Not to mention Crede’s back problems. If the Dodgers gave up on LaRoche because of back problems would they sign a vet with back problems? To answer my own question…Only if Ned’s still here. We’re screwed.

hahaha scurtis my friend said the same thing! If Bombko wasn’t just released by the Madres I could easily picture him and Falkenborg throwing a combined Perfect Game against us…twice. It’s always happens.

Max ~ it’s good to see you all fired up once again – lol!!
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enchanted ~ We needed a shortstop/ 3rd at the trade deadline, and look what happened – another outfielder. We got a gem in Manny, but I don’t think Ned has the smarts to do that again trying to get a shortstop, 3rd/catcher, SP. He was very, very fortunate that Manny is such an asset, but what are the chances of him repeating that kind of acquisition – probably won’t happen. The track record is still there with millions on the bench and DL. It all still comes down to Frank having the cajones to fire Ned.

I know this has nothing to do with baseball but If you are near a television right now turn it to CBS. 20 year-old American Sam Querrey is taking it to Rafa Nadal at the US Open. I love this time of year. The US Open is on and it’s the start of September baseball. Not to mention I didn’t have to get up at 7 this morning to go to class. Thank you Labor Day!

Max – not saying I want Crede, but given the dirge of available FA’s and the fact that DeWitt can only play one bag at a time, the optons are going to be limited on who you get. Also, Crede’s poor OBP is somewhat mitigated by his slugging, so no, I would not rather have JP playing third even if he could.

Enchanted, if we signed someone out of this horrible free agent class we will just keep shooting ourselves in the foot. The last time we signed someone for the sake of signing someone we got stuck with Juan Pierre for 5 years. Our best option is resigning Casey Blake but ONLY to a 2 year deal. Anything more then that we need to pass and just try and find a solution from within. Trublue, I’d love to have A-Rod but I’d rather keep Kershaw, MacDonald, Xavier Paul and whoever else we’d have to give up to get him. Not to mention there is no way New York will pay enough of his salary for McCheap to OK it.

I wouldn’t mind keeping Casey Blake. Other than that off week he had (which many did at the time), he has been pretty consistent, and at least we know what we would be getting if we re-signed him ~ however, for no more than two years.

I agree Max, Blake is a better option, but absent Blake or moving Marty to third we’re going to be down a third baseman thanks to Ned’s moves. I don’t see Abreu being anykind of factor whatsoever. The other option is to sign Hudson and move DeWitt back to third, but how much money is Frank going to shell out?

Unfortunately Ned has left so many holes to plug it isn’t funny, and this years free agent crop past about 4-5 players just sucks.

In keeping Blake for me is what in a nutshell is what is wrong with us. I am not just talking short term here. In fact keeping Blake may be the right move…but We jerk LaRoache around, after jerkling Loney around because we sign Nomar for 20 million and then because Nomar 2 years later is still hurt and cant even Man 3b, gets lucky cause Furcal gets hurt and all SS back up’s or hitting so patheticly that his .238 avg looks great…but while he was hurt we HAD to trade for a 3b (because he Nomar was hurt) and now Nomar is still hurt and we traded our top 3b prospect.

I’ve been reading that Ned wanted to pick up a waiver claim on an infielder…Thankfully for us the Giants said no to Visquel( another one of Ned’s loving over the hill players that he desperately wanted)….We could have had Eckstein..he’s the best out there and a good lead off hitter…a pest…TheDbacks got him and have him playing 2nd in his first game with them…he’s already got 2 hits….maybe he wasn’t old enough for Ned…or maybe too good…the guy is a winner….Will Ned EVER get it right?

Once all of the free agents on this team are free agents the payroll will be around 80 million or so. If we sign Manny to the deal he wants that would increase it close to 100 million. We certainly can’t sign Manny and then address other needs because of two players. Juan Pierre and Andruw Jones. My biggest beef about Pierre’s contract was the number of years. I always said it would cost us because of the lack of flexibility it gives us and it’s going to bit us in the butt this coming offseason. If we didn’t have Pierre and Jones who knows maybe we could go after Manny and Sabathia this off season but we can’t. Thanks Ned.

And the days grow short as we reach September.
Let these be the days we will remember.
Month…..W….L
Mar/Apr 14-13
May……..13-15
June…….11-16
July………16-10
Aug………13-16
Total…….67-70
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25 games in Sept. …….12 in LA & 13 on the road.

Wow I was checking Pierre career stolen bases agaiinst Young and he has none and been caught 6 times. How is that really possible with Young high leg kick and Young is one of the best at giving up stolen bases?

It totally befuddles me how our management can hang onto Sweeney the entire season with his pitiful record. Torre will not convince himself that the guy is done. If we don’t get rid of Ned, Sweeney will probably be signed for another try next year, Ludicrous!

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